Contents

Projects

Canonical Ltd. has created and continues to back several projects. Principally these are free and open-source software (FOSS) or tools designed to improve collaboration between free software developers and contributors.

Open-source software

Mark Shuttleworth (standing) and other Canonical employees discuss Launchpad at a design sprint in Germany

Other projects and services

Ubuntu One, (discontinued) a service for file synchronization and other uses

Canonical supplies some of the core engineering to Linaro which invests in upstream projects

Ubuntu Advantage, in Japan, the support service sales by K.K. Ashisuto

Business plans

In a Guardian interview in May 2008, Mark Shuttleworth said that the Canonical business model was service provision and explained that Canonical was not yet close to profitability. Canonical also claimed it would wait for the business to turn into a profitable one within another three to five years. Shuttleworth regarded Canonical as positioning itself as demand for services related to free software rose.[13] This strategy has been compared to Red Hat's business strategies in the 1990s.[14] In an early 2009 New York Times article, Shuttleworth said that Canonical's revenue was "creeping" towards $30 million, the company's break-even point.[15] However, as of 2013 the company was again in investment mode, making a $21.3 million loss as it invested in mobile.

In 2007, Canonical launched an International online shop selling support services and Ubuntu branded goods; later in 2008 it expanded that with a United States-specific shop designed to reduce shipment times.[16] At the same time, the word Ubuntu was trademarked in connection with clothing and accessories.[17]

↑ 4.04.14.2"About Canonical". Canonical Ltd. Retrieved 2012-08-20. We've come a long way since our launch in 2004. We now have over 500 staff in more than 30 countries, and offices in London, Boston, Taipei, Montreal, Shanghai, São Paulo and the Isle of Man.

↑"Canonical launches U.S.-based shop.ubuntu.com in time for holiday season". Ubuntu Insights. Canonical Ltd. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-28. Canonical launched today an U.S.-based on-line shop for Ubuntu-branded merchandise and software. With a new fulfillment house in St. Louis, Missouri, shipments are faster and less expensive for Ubuntu users and enthusiasts in the U.S